Belt.



ALLISON HOWARD FLEMING, OF FAIRMON'T, WEST VIRGINIA.

BELT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Ma'y 15, 1917.

Application filed October 30, 1916. Serial No. 128,451.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I. ALLIsoN H. FLEMING ion, State of West Virginia, have invented certain Improvements in Belts, of which the. following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming apart hereof.

The object of the invention is to provide a trousers supporting belt, having means surmounting and bearing upon the hips of the wearer in such a manner and under such conditions as to maintain the belt in a plane above the hips., so that the lateral or compressive bearing of the belt shall impose upon the relatively soft fleshy portions of the waist of the wearer, said means being of such a construction as to conform suiticiently to the curvature of the body to insure ease and permanence of location, and being provided with devices for engaging the trousers waist band to hold the latter securely in a plane with the upper edge above the belt. to thereby conceal the same.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear in the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, itbeing understood that changes'inthe form, proportion and minor details may'be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of p i the invention.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a view showing a belt illustrating one embodimentof the invention applied in the operative position.

Fig. 2 is a detail view of one of the hipsurmounting elements and the adjacent portion of the belt.

Fig. 3 is a detail vertical section of the same.

Fig. 4: is a detail perspective'view of the plate and trousers engaging members of the hip-surmounting element with the parts de-- taohed.

The invention embodies essentially a belt 10, provided at intervals with hip-surmounting elements 11, designed to rest upon the hips of the wearer in such a way as to support the device with the belt surrounding the relatively softer portions of the waist of the wearer. whereby the parts may be held in the proper position without tightening the belt to such an extent as to cause inconvenience, and preferably the hip-surmounting elements are slidably mounted upon the belt so as to provide for adjustment to suit different girths of wearers. These hip-surmounting elements are stiffened and extend upwardly from the plane of the belt, and are provided with trousers engaging devices which in the construction illustrated consists of clamps 12, of a conventional or preferred type at the upper extremities of arm 13. Preferably the hipsurmounting element has abody portion consisting of a plate 1-l. shownin detail in Fig. 4. which is doubled upon itself and is provided with an inclosing sheath 15. held in place by marginal stitching. The plate with its sheath should also be provided with openings registering with corresponding openings in the arms of the trousers engaging members and eyelets 17 engaging the openings to secure the parts in their several relative positions as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the lowermost eyelet serving to define the guide-way through the hip-surmounting element for the reception of the belt.

The hip-surmounting elements are preferably made of such a width as to insure a firm. substantial and easy bearing upon the hips of the wearer. but in order to prevent intermediate portions of the trousers band from sagging supplemental supporting elements 18, having a construction similar to that ust described with reference to the hipsurmounting element, may be slidably mounted upon the belt to provide for adjustment for the same reason as described with reference to the hip-surmounting elements. Also said supplemental elements are provided as shown with trousers engaging devices.

After adjusting the belt around the waist, at the proper comfortable tensions, and arranging the hip-surmounting elements directly over the bearing at their lower edges on the hip. the supplemental supports should be placed as desired relatively to the hip-surmounting elements after which the clamps may be engaged with the upper edge of the trousers band. thebelt and supports being concealed thereby and the upper edge of the band being held in the desired plane.

After this adjustment and engagement accurately assume their proper positioms.

are successively removed and replaced, and

is always in position for nse,--becoming effective simply by tightening the belt at the buckle 19.

It will be observed that the rounded lower bearing edge formed by the doubling of the stiffening plate of the hipsurmounting ele ments avoids any (flitting, or clmfing action, especially as said plate is covered by the sheath of canvas or other suitable fabric, and the only exposed metal parts are the clamps and their fiat supportiitig arms, which parts are preferably highly polished to avoid abrasion of the garments.

What is claimed is:

l. A trousers-supporting belt having flat stiffened hip-surmounting elements slidably mounted upon and adapted to maintain the belt in a, plane above the hips of the wearer, each of said elements consisting of a folded member forming a belt--receiving guide, and an upunrdly extending trousers-engaging device carried by said member and: secured between the folds thereof to define thewidth of the belt-receiving guide.

2. A trousore-supportin .belt having flat stiliened hip-surmonnting elements slidnbly mounted upon and adapted to maintain the belt in a plane above the hips of the wearer, each of said. elements consisting of a plate provided with an inclosing fabric sheath, doubled upon itself to form a lower rounded bearing edge, and an u'pi'vardly extending -t1.-ousers-engaging device carried by said between the parts of said folded member,

and fastening means extending through the parts of the folded member and the arm, the end of the latter definlng a belt receivlng guide between parts of the folded member;

This specification signed and witnessed this 2 L day of October A. l). 1916.

ALLISON HOWARD FLEMING.

- Witnesses: W. P. NUZ M, WALTER J ONES, J r. 

